Exclusive: Trump slams Chinese Huawei, halting shipments from Intel and others – sources

NEW YORK / WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration has notified several Huawei suppliers, including chipmaker Intel, that it is revoking some licenses to sell to the Chinese company and intends to reject dozens other applications to provide the telecommunications company, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The action against Huawei Technologies – possibly the latest against the company under the administration of Republican President Donald Trump – is the latest in a long-standing effort to weaken the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, which , he said, poses a threat to US national security and foreign policy. interests.

The opinions came amid a wave of US action against China in the final days of the Trump administration. Democrat Joe Biden will be sworn in as president on Wednesday.

An Intel Corp spokesperson made no immediate comment, and a Commerce Department spokesperson did not immediately return requests for comment.

In an email seen by Reuters documenting the actions, the Semiconductor Industry Association said on Friday that the Commerce Department had issued “the intention to deny a significant number of export license applications to Huawei and revoke at least one previously issued license “. Sources familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there had been more than one dismissal.

The email said the actions covered a “wide range” of products in the semiconductor industry and asked the companies if they had received any notifications.

The email noted that companies waited “several months” for licensing decisions and with only a week left in administration, it was difficult to cope.

A spokesperson for the semiconductor group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The United States put Huawei on a Commerce Department “entity list” in May 2019, citing national security concerns, preventing suppliers from selling American products and technology to the company.

But some sales have been allowed and others denied as the United States tightened restrictions on the company, including expanding the United States’ authority to require licenses for sales of semiconductors made in the United States. alien with American technology.

Prior to the latest action, some 150 licenses were pending for $ 120 billion worth of goods and technology, said a person familiar with the matter, which was delayed because various US agencies could not agree on whether if they were to be granted.